cebuana style – Page 2 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

look back once then move forward x cheers to 2013!

i’m in a bit of a panic here because not only is it another month, it’s another year and i’m still catching up with posts from december 2012. so i better hurry up then!

but before i proceed with my catch-up posts, here’s a quick look back into my 2012:

my favorite looks

it’s on this year that i have found a sense of style that is true to myself. over the last 3 years since i started my blog, i’ve been experimenting with various looks. this year, i’ve been more picky with my closet items when i shop and only get the ones that truly represent who i am.

falling in love all over again

i was civilly married last year however, it was only this year that Harry and i started planning for our Church wedding. we had our engagement session shot by the amazing Marlon Capuyan and it felt like day one with Harry all over again.

how i took the risk and chose my passion

i may have spoken about resigning in October and choosing to do what i love but i don’t think i’ve discussed in detail what i actually do for a living now. my friend April and I launched Cuckoo Cloud Concepts back in October and as Harry would say it, “We’ve gone Cuckoo!”

cuckoo cloud concepts cebu wedding stylist cebu engagement session cebu wedding

Cuckoo Cloud Concepts specializes in styling and set design for engagement sessions that have a fun and quirky vibe. we love couples who’d like to tell a story with their engagement session and want to make a fun memory of their love story. we also style weddings for couples who want handmade elements in their wedding. so far, things have been unexpectedly good. we’re still starting a bit slow but there has been a lot of potential and upcoming opportunities. we are especially thankful for Marlon and Mildred for their support — as they’ve been there for us since the start. of course, our Mr. Cuckoos have been our number one fans. here are some of the work we’ve done — and you can check out our website and Facebook page for more details:

what i did, resigning from a high-paying corporate job, is a great risk. honestly, i don’t have money to spend for personal stuff right now and my money is enough for day-by-day expenses but that’s okay. i’ve realized you have to undergo a bit of sacrifice to pursue something you love. i love fashion that’s why i have this blog but i’m also happy that i get to do a bit of that for the couples in their shoots. i’ve dipped my hands into DIY-ing again and it feels good knowing that i can create something beautiful with my hands. of course, i love weddings. am in love with weddings which makes this job all the more fun. so —

“hi, i’m gizelle. former sales and call center manager. now a happy stylist and set designer for Cuckoo Cloud Concepts. nice to meet you!” ♥

experienced Bloggers United twice!

a look back in words

in words, my twenty-twelve has been a roller coaster. it started really dark what with the tragedy my family experienced in january. we slowly had to move on from it to support my sister and i underwent hell at work, all while preparing for my wedding. i lost weight because i could only eat once a day due to work stress and my personal life almost faltered. but in the end, everything turned out well. the choices we make mold our lives to what we what we want them to be in the end. on December 22, i got married in front of God and our families in my dream bohemian wedding gown and to the love of my life, Harry. (and if some of you are wondering, i’m 28. not 22 so yes, it’s the right time for me get married. haha!)

happy new year everyone!
here’s a year of fashion brilliance (or mistakes) and hopefully a whole wall of beautiful shoes by the end of year.

december diary: styling for footzyfolds

the month of December started with a typhoon (both literally and figuratively, for me).

typhoon Pablo blew through our country starting from the south and claimed a hundred lives. my heart goes out to the victims and their families.

on another note, December was crazy good for me despite the natural catastrophe and the unpredictable weather. it started with a styling stint for Footzyfolds Philippines, a project for Cuckoo Cloud Concepts — styling an engagement session for a couple who just got in from Dubai and will be having their wedding in 2 weeks, flying to Manila for a 2-day Bloggers United (4!) bazaar and finally, meeting Harry down the aisle in our dream bohemian wedding.

aside from frantically preparing for our wedding, my good friend Karla Bautista-Siao called me up to ask if i could style a photo shoot for Footzyfolds Philippines. it was really short notice and my logic told me that i shouldn’t because it was so near our wedding and i still had so many things to do but my heart told me not to pass it up.

it was truly an honor styling for Footzyfolds and working with the most amazing people. amazing Cebuano designers lent their designs for the shoot and when i say amazing, i mean Cary Santiago, Arcy Gayatin, Rey Humberto Villegas and Hadju Godinez from the House of Salvador Malto.

photography by Dan Douglas Ong | hair and make-up by Ramis Solis, assisted by Chris | fashion styling by Gizelle Faye of Cuckoo Cloud Concepts | ready-to-wear outfits by Props | accessories by Tseng Jewelry by Noreen Tseng and SEPA Cebu | MAC models: April, Raceene and Sue | special thanks to Valeriano Tomol III and Roger Alferez

here are some behind-the-scene shots. actual photos of the shoot will posted soon. ♥

MAC models discovered a new model on this shoot as well. she’s the sister of Footzyfolds’ operations manager and happened to visit the shoot that afternoon. suddenly my 5’2″ frame was buried amongst the tall and gorgeous models.

did you catch me trying to steal an outfit shot by the mirror? i was completely covered up that day because not only did December begin with a typhoon, the shoot took place on the day of the typhoon. anything for the love of styling.

next post: the actual photos of the shoot. ♥

cramming like my life depends on it x BU4 pass winners!

harry and i started planning for our wedding in early february this year and i can’t believe that it’s literally just days away from our wedding. i sat up in bed the other night with only 5 hours of sleep from a drunken night from my bachelorette party and my mind is running like crazy, very much paranoid about all the things i still need to do for the wedding. see, i’ve opted to DIY my wedding reception — so the decor and ambiance will be a reflection of us. DIY-ing a wedding is hard, especially if it’s your own. so wish us luck. right now, my nails are blue from paint and my legs are smeared by glue and food coloring.

floral long-sleeved top – thrifted | denim cut-offs – thrifted | silver glitter flats – rubi, cotton on | neon pink belt – props | silver collar necklace – downtown find | camel fringe leather bag – urban originals | boho laptop bag – thrifted | bangles – braids and bonds

anyway, on to great news — here are the winners of the bloggers united 4 passes:

Tintin Olavia

Hazel Ann Uri

Kate Barretto Mira

Patrick Noel Genio

Daphne Villasin

congratulations and make sure to drop by our booth — can’t wait to meet all of you!

boho chic on the down low

i’ve been wearing more flats lately and they’ve invaded two-thirds of my shoe rack. there’s something about cute ballet flats that i can’t resist. if not for the non-existent cash in my wallet, i would’ve gone ahead and bought myself two more pairs at the department store early today. sometimes, not carrying cash is a good thing.

these wide-legged palazzos are very tricky to wear. they’re very comfortable but the wrong styling can make you look like a balloon. do you think i styled it well? you, how would you style a pair of palazzos?

i also blogged over at www.everydaysundaes.com — a style blog i share with my two sisters. ♥

wardrobe necessity

they say that if you haven’t worn something for more than a year then it’s time to let go of it. good thing my mom didn’t let go of these black pair of Onyx jeans which initially was my sister’s. they were the perfect fit for high-waisted denim cut-offs and are perfect for my current venture.

shorts (and cotton leggings in prints or colors) are one of my wardrobe necessities now that i’m not stuck in an office and am constantly on the move. i need clothes that are comfortable yet chic and definitely ones that doesn’t constrict me in any way because not only am i required to scour the downtown streets or move around but our eternal summer weather does not cooperate with more fabric on our skin.

the resuscitation of a social life

i haven’t been blogging because i’ve been so busy following my dreams that it’s crazy how time flies in a day. but honestly, i’ve also been cheating on blogger and having been seeing pinterest on the side. yes, i have finally jumped the wagon. i did have a pinterest account but never used it, afraid i’d get sucked into it and did not want to maintain another social media account while i balanced my full-time job, personal life and the blogosphere. man, was i wrong. pinterest is freakin’ awesome. okay, i have to stop now — i’m blushing. LOL.

anyway, i met up with Eden and Chyrel over milk tea at Chatime for various reasons which will be divulged later, i promise. it’s really been awhile since i’ve actually gone out of the house and met friends. my sisters actually congratulated me for having a social life again — yes, it was that dead while i was slaving away in my past life. incidentally, Mac then invited us to raid her closet and we were happy to oblige. Isabeau was there as well and it became a quick blogger meet-up of sorts. Mac’s kid, by the way, was such a cutie and couldn’t be any happier with the attention.

on to the required outfits shots. when we agreed to meet, we agreed to dress casually and if it was 2 years ago, when “casual” was brought up i would have dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and ballet flats but i’ve learned my lesson. with these girls, casual is this:

and ooh, remember when i told you guys about my sister Charm also blogging and that we’re working on a project together? well, here it is. Everyday Sundaes — a blog i share with not just Charm but also my little sister, Aimee. bookmark this blog on your browsers for 3 scoops of fashion.

midnight ice cream runs

having to control one’s own time allows for out of the blue ice cream runs even at the wee hours of the morning when everyone in the convenience store is buzzed with alcohol while we’re fixated on getting that sugar high.

of course, it doesn’t hurt to get that required outfit shot by the bright and colorful background of the convenience store fridge. must get another one when i get a better camera. LOL.

time flies when you’re having fun

please don’t mind the undone face — this was taken after a super early morning mass.

i’ve been very busy the past few days and i didn’t notice that two weeks has actually gone by since i resigned from my corporate job. my days are filled with hours of arts and crafts, trips downtown, meeting clients, photo shoots and discussing collaborations, among other things. i don’t follow a strict schedule and i think i work more than 8 hours a day. but you know what? all of it doesn’t feel like work. i guess what they say is right, it certainly doesn’t feel like work when you’re having fun.

printed chiffon top – primal rave | blue maxi skirt – primal rave | camel smoking slippers – rubi shoes | ash teal belt – props | tan fringe bag – urban originals | necklaces: charm necklace and ethnic-style necklace – downtown finds, elephant tusk – bangkok find | bangles: pink rhinestones – gifted from india, brass and enamel bangles – downtown finds | rings: lion head and gecko – downtown finds

no return, no exchange

the required 7-hour seminar for would-be marrying couples that we attended last Sunday was expected to be a long day of droning lectures but instead turned out to be a fun and insightful experience. real-life couples who’ve been together for 10 – 38 years conducted the seminar which made it all the more relevant because they were sharing real-life experiences. my top three take-me-homes from the seminar:

♥ marriage is not always a bed of roses
♥ issues can be solved by open communication
♥ once married, there is a strict no return, no exchange policy

this is it — there’s no turning back! after all, we already made the down payment. LOL.

bohemian love

almost five years ago, i put on a blind-fold and took hold of his hand, not knowing where to go, not knowing where we’ll end up. here we are and our hands are still tightly entwined.

styling and production design – cuckoo cloud concepts
photography – marlon capuyan
hmua – erika diaz

sayonara!

lemon and turquoise striped top with sequined pocket – primal rave | skinny jeans – thrifted | pink and gun-metal wedge sandals – people are people | blue satchel – primal rave | powder blue feather earrings – downtown find

last week i officially bid goodbye to a life i thought i wanted. i may sound like a broken record because i did do the same two years ago.

two years ago though when i decided to leave to pursue my dreams, i really wasn’t sure what i wanted to do, not even sure if i really knew what my dreams were. it was done on a whim — that i just needed to get out of there. all i knew at that time was that i wanted to pursue fashion but was still very lost. no wonder i ended up lying awake at night, feeling very scared.

i spent a year working for my sister and spiraled downwards by leaving that job too and taking a home-based online job which made me even unhappier. my sister saw me and said, “straighten up your life.” a friend reminded me, “i thought you wanted to pursue management.” so i got even more scared and went back to what was comfortable (and what earned me more money).

at the end of the day though, everything felt redundant and soon very frustrating. i am a perfectionist by nature so i try to excel at everything i do but it doesn’t necessarily mean that i loved what i am doing. i gave this life another chance but it’s just not for me.

this time, i have more clarity. if things don’t seem clear though, i just have faith. and i am very lucky to have the support of my family and friends. this time, i may have gone cuckoo but i am happy. cuckoos may not have new shoes every month but walking is lighter.

my sister blogs too!

my older sister has finally jumped the gun. after accompanying me to bloggers united 3, she saw what the commotion was about and what a wonderful community the philippine fashion bloggers had. we joked and convinced her to try blogging but she was hesitant because she said she wouldn’t know what to say. i think it was after collaborating with various bloggers for PROPS did she finally decide to start her own blog. meet my sister, Charm and head on over to her blog: One Semi-Charmed Life.

oh yeah, i know you’re thinking it — my sister is TALL. she’s 5’7″ while i stand just a mere 5’2″. LOL. i don’t know what happened but she’s the tallest in our family. my mom must have eaten a growth bean, or something.

for those who have not read previous posts in my blog, i do have a little sister too. tres marias, is what they call us. all three of us love fashion and at one point, shared one whole continuous closet in our house when all 3 of us used to live together. my little sister is now in Sydney, Charm has left the nest after she got married and i’ve stayed back with the parents — so we can say our closets are now strictly our own.

the three of us have a project coming soon. *wink*